Letter From Birmingham Jail

Allusion- an indirect reference to a famous person, place, event, or literary work. Identify the allusions in lines 247-264. How does King use these allusions to support his argument in favor of civil disobedience?

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Nitaa M #512410
on 3/20/2016 7:26 PM

Last updated by
Nitaa M #512410
on 3/20/2016 8:43 PM

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"Of course, there is nothing new about this kind of civil disobedience. It was evidenced sublimely in the refusal of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego to obey the laws of Nebuchadnezzar, on the ground that a higher moral law was at stake. It was practiced superbly by the early Christians, who were willing to face hungry lions and the excruciating pain of chopping blocks rather than submit to certain unjust laws of the Roman Empire. To a degree, academic freedom is a reality today because Socrates praticed civil disobedience. In our own nation, the Boston Tea Party represented a massive act of civil disobedience."

We should never forget that everything Adolf Hitler did in Germany was "legal" and everything the Hungarian freedom fighters did in Hungary was "illegal." It was "illegal" to aid and comfort a Jew in Hitler's Germany. Even so, I am sure that, had I lived in Germany at the time, I would have aided and comforted my Jewish brothers. If today I lived in a Communist country where certain principles dear to the Christain faith are suppressed, I would openly advocate disobeying that country's antireligious laws.